355 Days of Bad Luck
by Rinx-LawrenceB
Summary: The gods must have hated him that day. Or maybe because Ryuzaki had some sort of weird connection with the gods which she channeled to him to keep away all bad luck. He never really believed in all this stuff, but Ryuzaki believed in him, and that's enough. Ryosaku. Assertive Sakuno. Stupid Ryoma. Complete. Please READ and Review to help me get better at this.
1. Ryoma

**CHAPTER 1: RYOMA**

Sixteen year old Ryoma Echizen is having a bad day. Everything is not going his way. If he had known it would be like this today he would have accepted the good luck charm Ryuzaki offered yesterday. The girl has a habit of drawing his luck for him at any temple she chanced by, and also liked giving him good luck charms she bought from her travels all over the world with her mother. The last one was from a gypsy village in Hungary; yesterday she was offering him incense from a temple in Thailand. Sakuno had told him to light it up before he sleeps, to keep bad elements away. Ryoma told her she was just being superstitious.

He had dismissed her offer saying that she has already given him a lifetime's worth of good luck charms. He also lived near a temple, and he never trusted the incense his _Baka Oyaji_ burns for kami-sama. _It should be the god of beer, sleep and impure thoughts_ , Ryoma thought.

Ryoma looked at Sakuno. _Speaking of impure thoughts._

Smirking, Ryoma had implied he needed some other thing than luck, but the girl only gave her a confused look.

"But what would I give you, Ryoma-kun?" He smirked again. The girl knew nothing.

" _Do you want me become the Buddha?"_ Ryoma had teased. _"Girl with hair too long._ "

 _"Mou, Ryoma-kun!"_

Sakuno's face scrunched up.

 _" My hair and Buddha and has got nothing to do with anything."_

Initially, he felt really good about the memory, but upon arrival at Seigaku High School, he could only taste the regret in his tongue. He should have asked for ten good luck charms from her yesterday.

Ryoma had been running late, and arrived just in time before the gates closed. Usually Momo-senpai would pick him up and hitch him a ride at the back of his bicycle, but today, Momoshiro Takeshi was a no-show. Ryoma waited for him for ten minutes before deciding to head out to school, but when Momo did not turn up after the wait, Ryoma decided to head out and walk, he still has one hour left. He'll make it.

He almost didn't.

When he was about to get out of the door, her mother screamed to him. ' _What the hell?'_

"Ryoma, why are you still here!?"

 _"It's still too early" he had replied._

 _"I thought you have early morning practice?"_

 _"I do. It's early"_

 _"No, young man, it's half past seven! What are you still doing there standing? Go now!"_

Rinko Echizen's words barely registered in his mind when he was pushed out of the door to the streets. He started running, still in his tennis gear, his school uniform in his bag, he had fished his phone from his pocket and checked out the time. He was too late.

He missed early morning practice, _goddamnit._ He's vice-captain now, he can't just _miss_ a practice!

 _What would ex-captain Tezuka say to the Seigaku's pillar of strength?_

 _'This is all that current Captain's fault!'_

 _"That Captain."_

Apparently, that captain, Momoshiro Takeshi, had been sick. The stupid tall git thought it was alright to consume a gallon of ice cream after a rigorous training regimen. However, it was not the amount of ice cream which sent Momo-senpai to the hospital. The stupid monkey apparently didn't know he was allergic to _vanilla_ , which he gobbled almost a gallon's worth of.

It will soon be Nationals Tournament again, and the Seigaku High School has to defend their title. With Tezuka and the other Seigaku middle school regulars gone in the picture, Momo was unexpectedly handed the title of team captain. Given their middle school legacy, one would think Seigaku High would pick a more responsible captain, but Kaidoh was too unsociable, too deep in his own world to actually be helpful. What's he going to do, hiss at them?

Ryoma was barely eligible since he comes and goes from America to Japan and to anywhere, so he was given the Vice Captain position, a title which meant he was given a name, but no actual power. His job was to basically bully the regulars, oversee new recruits, and sometimes sit in for Momo-senpai, which he never had to do anyway.

Momoshiro may not be the most ideal captain, but he had the dedication of a thousand, and an attendance record unrivalled by no one. Momoshiro never had _that one day_ …until now. _Talk about bad timing._

 _'Wait…if Momo-senpai was sick and he was not there to substitute for him.'_

" _Who handled practice?"_

Ryoma asked the Ichinen Trio. They were eating lunch at their classroom. First period was hell. Ryoma forgot about two pop quizzes and had forgotten to bring his Science Textbook. He left his bento at home and had to buy some sub-standard bento at the school cafeteria.

" _Coach did."_ Horio replied. "…but more like _didn't"_

 _"Why?"_ Ryoma asked.

He was met with silence, the three looked at each other, finally Katsuo answered.

 _"She was not into it this morning. She didn't even torture us, can you imagine?"_

 _"She was talking about Sakuno-chan being weird or something."_ Horio interjected.

 _"Ano.. also, it seems like Sakuno-chan will be leaving for California soon."_ Kachiro piped in.

 _'California? He'll ask her later.'_

Katsuo noticed Ryoma's slightly raised eyebrows, but before he could say anything, Ryoma left with his lunch.

 _"Wait Ryoma! Sakuno's just vacation-"_

But the rest of the sentence died on his throat. Kachiro looked at Katsuo and smiled

" _Oh, just let him."_ Despite this, Katsuo and Kachiro both look worried.

" _That talk with Sakuno-chan is long overdue, you know."_ Emphasized Horio, the two other freshmen nodded their head.

When Ryoma arrived at the rooftop, she was already there, bento in her lap, chopsticks in hand, hair too long blowing in the wind. For the first time, that day, Ryoma felt at ease.

Their friendship was weird, they don't talk that much to each other as normal friends would, but they have a rhythm. Most of the time, they would eat lunch together, sometimes, when the situation allows it, he would walk her home. She'd always support him on his matches. He'd give him tips on how to be better at tennis. She'd do her best and will always show him her awards no matter how big or small. In turn, he would always drink Ponta with her after he'd won a match.

Ryoma walked towards her and finally sat, letting out a grunt as if to announce his presence. He looked at Sakuno, who stared at him, for far too long. She doesn't usually do this without turning away blushing. Feeling a stinging sensation at the back of his neck, Ryoma broke eye contact and immediately used his chopsticks to pick at Sakuno's bentou. He stole some of her egg rolls. Sakuno just decided to give her all of them.

"Ne Ryoma-kun. You weren't in the morning practice, you okay?"

Ryoma sighed. He had been doing that a lot lately.

"Long story."

He did not feel like telling her all the bad luck he has gotten today. He doesn't want to recall anything bad, when he's finally feeling at peace. _No_ , he'd tell her later.

But his sweet, sweet peace did not last for long.

 _"…you never tell me anything anymore."_

Ryoma almost choked on his eggs. _What is the girl saying?_

"Why should I?" He asked. _'Has he ever?'_ He and Ryuzaki both knew they are not the talkative types. They look out for each other in their own ways. She doesn't need to know _everything_ about him. Ryoma shrugged, for instance, Ryuzaki need not know how Ryoma felt about the fact that she will soon be leaving for California.

He was meaning to ask her email address, so he could still talk to her sometimes, because international phone calls are expensive. Ryoma had not once thought of stopping her going to California, if she likes to stay in California for good, he found no problem in that. After all it was no secret to him that Sakuno plans to study architecture there and live with her mother who worked there as a renowned hotel architect.

The fact that the Echizen family owned a house in California is just a lucky coincidence.

Ryoma thought they had an understanding to not complicate matters between the two of them, to let _it_ , whatever _it_ is they have, to just _happen_. He was wrong, it has been bothering Ryuzaki, and now it's bothering him too. The girl stopped dabbing her eyes.

 _"But..but I am your-"_ Sakuno blushed.

Ryoma looked at her, waiting, _anticipating_.

She fought hard to keep the blush down but she's failing.

"What I'm saying is, when we were in middle school…

Ano.. I can usually tell what you were thinking."

"…and, when you have problems, we used to do things to—"

Sakuno now looked like a tomato.

 _What is happening to her?_

The girl then closed her eyes, and muttered something under her breath. It as if she's concentrating hard on something, when she finally opened her eyes again, Ryoma sensed there was something wrong with her.

"Why _me_ Ryoma-kun?" She asked, demanded.

 _"_ Why am I the only girl in our year you ever talk to _?"_ He gave him a confused look.

 _'Is that a problem?'_ He can't believe what she's talking about.

But the girl kept at it. " _It's confusing, for others… for me!"_

"Why do you do the things you do?"

"Why do you encourage me play tennis and then tease me about my hair?"

Ryoma just sat there. "Your hair _is_ too long-" he started, but the girl ignored him.

"Why did you take me to the dance last week? You should have gone with the girl you like."

Ryoma tried kept his cool. With her foolishly acting like this, he had to be careful.

But his mind was muddled, and words were hard to come by, because Ryuzaki, and his whole day has been weird altogether. Perhaps this is the unavoidable consequence of being so focused with tennis all the time. If this was tennis he'd have an answer.

Instead, Ryoma could only say the first three words which came to his mind.

 _"You were there."_

Sakuno looked shocked, but she smiled, a smile which didn't quite reach her eyes.

Ryoma was not known to be good with words, and with his luck today maybe he should never have spoken a thing.

If only life followed a set of rules like his favorite game.

Sakuno eyes then started looking watery. Ryoma had always hated—always _avoided,_ seeing her cry.

"I was _there!?_ You mean…I was just _convenient_?" Sakuno bursted.

 _"Mada-"_ but the girl cut him off.

Sakuno is dabbing on her eyes now, trying hard to keep the tears at bay.

" _Mada mada dane_ , _Always_ _mada mada dane!_ "

She stood and walked away from him.

"I'm done with _this_. Good luck with your match."

 _Did Ryuzaki just broke ties with him? Did she just-_

Ryoma should have brought the 355 lucky charms Ryuzaki has given him in the past three years, or he should have accepted the incense yesterday, maybe he has to start bringing a charm each day to make sure a day as bad as this should never happen again.

Or maybe he should never have let his one real lucky charm to walk away from him.


	2. Sakuno

**CHAPTER TWO: SAKUNO**

Sakuno was frustrated. She knew Ryoma is not exactly the ideal best friend, but ever since Tomoka left for another High School in Osaka, he has become a more distinguished presence in her life.

She thought he'd get used to his lack of emotional response. After all, they have known each other for quite a while now. When they graduated middle school and entered High School together, Sakuno promised herself to always be patient with Ryoma. To always be there for him, at times of need, to be someone he can depend on when a whole tennis team depended on him. To not let his sometimes sharp tongue, cocky remarks, and ever present smirk get to her. To not let his unhealthy habit of keeping all his problems to himself get to him.

She would not ask for anything in return, just seeing him happy, and being with him on his way to reaching his dream, would be enough.

After all, she had sworn to be a good friend. When she went

" _I was there?"_

Frustrated at Ryoma, but berating herself more, Sakuno found herself already a week not talking to him. No good mornings, no goodbye greetings, no nothing, just long awkward stares between the two of them in the hallways and in the classrooms.

 _"That's all he could say?"_

 _"After everything!?"_

 _I was there? It's as if he didn't have a choice._

Why does she have to feel so much for the littlest, most insignificant of his actions?

Sakuno found herself wallowing in self-pity because of the thought of being Ryoma's last resort.

But her grandmother and Tomoka encouraged her to just go on a _breather,_ and focus on her tennis for a while. After all, she'll be attending another tournament in two weeks.

But she cannot keep away from Ryoma forever, _not for long. S_ he had still religiously watched the tennis team practice when she's not training at the girls tennis courts herself. With all that's said and done, she still loves tennis. She'll always love tennis. Even when her friendship with Ryoma ends, after all, tennis attracted her to Ryoma, not the other way around.

It was only week after the incident with Ryoma that she finally understood him.

That afternoon, when Sakuno was on homeroom duty, Ryoma had unceremoniously entered the room and started erasing the writings on the board with her.

"What are you doing?"

She asked without so much of a glance at Ryoma.

"We're on duty."

They continued cleaning the room. Sakuno could only beat herself, how could she forget who her homeroom duty partner was?

When board was clean, and with the brooms and mops finally kept away, they found themselves immersed in silence. _How come the boy is still not leaving? His training will start soon._

Silence has never much bothered the both of them before, but this silence was too uncomfortable.

Sakuno felt like she was suffocating.

It was Ryoma who broke it.

 _"Ryuzaki. It's my match tomorrow."_

Sakuno finally looked at him, expecting an explanation, _anything_.

 _"Be there."_

 _Be there._ It sounded like an order, or is it? The boy had not even looked at her.

She wanted Ryoma to tell her more but he already left.

 _Be there_

 _Be there_

 _Be there_

His words kept reverberating in her mind.

"Be there." Then it dawned on her _._

She was _there._ When Ryoma's eye got injured in his Fudomine match, she was _there_

…evenwhen he had warned her to not go to him, she was, stubbornly, _there._

When he lost his memories—yet again trying her hardest to help him, she was _there_.

When he was excluded from the U-17 Camp, she didn't waver in her faith in him.

When he hit rock bottom, she was _there_.

She was just always, always _there_.

No _buts_ , no _what if's_ , no matter the weather, no matter the circumstance, even at times Ryoma didn't want her or anyone to be there.

She would always support him. She had promised herself, to always be _there_.

And Ryoma had repaid her, not in romantic ways, but in his own way.

Those weird excuses to walk her home, those random requests to see her, sometimes at the airport, sometimes at the tennis courts, those weird times they ran into each other, at the grocery store, at street tennis courts.

How he had practically pried a _bear_ off of her. How he never lied to her, even if it could hurt her.

Those _perfect_ Christmas gifts his mother apparently just wanted to get _rid_ of.

That cat plushie he demanded her to keep, while telling her that Nanako _forced_ him to give it to her, _on her birthday_.

The way Karupin, his beloved cat, clung to her, like she was Ryoma herself.

Sakuno played the scenes in her head over and over again.

She faintly recalled what he had said to her in the airport, when he came back from America.

 _"…considering it's you, not bad."_ Ryoma's oddly encouraging words.

No matter how uncomfortable Ryoma sometimes looked, no matter how hard the teasing from the sempai-tachi got, he kept at it.

No matter the weather, no matter the circumstance, he would always make it to their Sunday tennis training sessions. No _buts,_ no _what if's_. No complains, not too many words. _Through his actions._

He was also, always, always _there_ for her.

But was has she done? Why did she just—go off on him like that? Where was her rational thought at that time?

And what was she, Sakuno Ryuzaki, girl with hair too long, still doing at home, lounging at her couch, drinking lemonade when Ryoma is about to have an important match?

 _"Eh! What time is it?"_ She suddenly stood up almost spilling the lemonade.

Her grandmother was already there. She had to make a run to take the bus.

 _But what would she say to him?_ She doubts _sorry_ would cut it.

 _Think Sakuno. Think!_

Then she got the perfect idea. She hurriedly gathered her red tennis racket, a lone tennis ball, her phone, keys and wallet and stuffed them inside her bag. She found herself smiling while quickly exiting their house and running to the streets.

"Mada mada dane Ryoma!"


	3. Epilogue

**Chapter III: Epilogue**

Finally Sakuno had reached the tennis courts, thanking the GPS on her phone Ryoma took time to teach her how to use.

When she arrived there, she thought she'd miss the match. She scanned the audience for some familiar faces. She found what she has been expecting

Sakuno went quickly to where the Ichinen Trio were sitting in the front box. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that old Seigaku Middle School Regulars were also there with them. She was a bit surprised when Kikumaru Eiji practically _squeezed_ her, like a teddy bear.

Oishi-sempai fussed and offered her water, Fuji-sempai smiled, Inui-sempai made notes, Taka-sempai… thankfully didn't have a racket with him.

 _"Where's Ryoma?"_ Sakuno asked, still panting from her run.

 _"Don't let your guard down."_

 _"Tezuka-buchou!"_ Everyone snapped at him.

Then Kachiro smiled at her.

"Oh Sakuno-chan, his match got delayed, seems like fate is with you today."

 _"Look behind you."_

"What?" Sakuno failed to hear Kachiro the first time.

 _"Dropping the –kun now, are we Ryuzaki?"_

Her eyes widened when she heard him.

Sakuno turned. She raised her eyebrows and pulled something out of her pocket.

 _"How about you, Ryo-ma?"_

Taking out the red racket she had brought with her. She prepared to serve a ball in the bleachers.

 _Please reach him._

Sakuno had perfectly served the ball. Her hard work in tennis really did pay off.

Ryoma caught the ball with his racket in one swift motion.

 _"Until when will you call me that? I have a name you know."_ Sakuno almost shouted.

Ryoma smirked. He looked at the ball Sakuno served at him. Knowing Sakuno, he knew it would have something written on it.

 _'My 356_ _th_ _lucky charm.'_ He thought.

He turned the ball around. He could not believe what he was seeing.

 _"..Sakuno"_

She smiled.

" _You're here."_

He looked at the ball, reading the words again.

" _I'm always here."_

Ryoma smiled. He motioned for Sakuno to come closer to him. Sakuno went down from the bleachers to the courtside bench where Ryoma had put his bag on.

Fearing that the short time before the match was running out, Sakuno found herself almost running to him. Ryoma had expected her to trip and fall, but she kept going forward and forward…to him.

Ryoma found himself explaining. _"About what I said. You misunderstood—I was saying, you were there, and I-"_

Ryoma paused. It's so hard to deal with her sometimes.

 _"It's okay Ryoma, I get it now."_

 _"Good."_ He let out a sigh of relief. He should get rid of this habit soon.

Sakuno sighed too. But hers was not of relief, at least…not yet.

 _If he's not going to do it, damn all to hell, she'll do it._

After all, her trip to California means she won't be seeing him for a month.

She launched herself towards Ryoma, who caught her, thinking she just slipped on something, but Sakuno did not slip, she _fell_ , fell hard for this boy in front of her, whose actions are confusing, and whose words even more so. She fell hard and she didn't mind. No, she would never mind, not those catcalls from her former _sempai-tachi_ , not those rabid fan girls(there normal harmless ones) who can't be happy for her, not Ryoma's bad moods, and his sometimes harsh words, not the hundred pairs of eyes staring at them at the moment.

After all she has her bad moods too, and her quirks and flaws, and Ryoma had never seem to mind any of them, and if she tries to change herself at all, Ryoma would always just quickly notice, and tell her she's _"being weird."_ He knew her all too well.

She can touch him. She can talk to him. He'll always be her best friend.

Sakuno then did something which prompted Kunimitsu Tezuka to almost smile.

She had motioned for Ryoma to bend over her for a bit, when the boy obliged, he quickly landed her lips to Ryoma's left cheek. To his surprise, Ryoma gasped and involuntarily tightened his grip around her. Ryoma just stared at her dumbfounded, his brow sweating a bit. He could feel the heat rise to his face, but slowly, he smiled.

 _"Just what I need."_

Sakuno stuck her tongue out to spite him. She then leaned in and whispered to Ryoma's right ear.

 _"You suck at being in love with me, you know?"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"Ochibi's blushing."_ Eiji reported to the rest of the Seigaku Regulars. Their sempai-tachi laughed at the sidelines.

Momoshiro who was now healthy and have long been out of the hospital had walked over to them to send his regards. He turned to look at his Vice Captain.

 _"Who knew Sakuno-chan will have more guts than him."_


	4. CRACK

Epilogue Crack (Up to you if you want to include to the rest of this story)

Ryoma Echizen didn't know how to say goodbye to his girlfriend. He was always the one leaving for abroad, and she was always the one with kind regards and unforgettable farewells.

He had texted her.

"Sakuno. Departure. When?"

She had replied.

"January 14"

Knowing it was her birthday, he had enlisted the help of his sempai-tachi, the Ichinen trio, Tomoka, and Karupin to plan the perfect farewell gift.

When the date finally arrived. Sakuno was shocked to see the whole airport decorated with pictures of Ryoma and her. Even the monitors had their faces on them.

She felt like she was in some kind of a prank show, and any moment now, the host would reveal the prank to her.

But it was Ryoma, in a prince costume who made his way to her.

Sakuno couldn't help but laugh. He looks so uncomfortable.

 _"They went overboard."_

Figuring who _they_ were, Sakuno looked around to find where their friends were hiding.

…and if they had a camera on hand with them.

Sakuno smiled, blushed for a bit, then pulled Ryoma into her for a kiss. _A passionate French kiss._

When she pulled away. She had laughed at Ryoma. _"Ryoma, I'll only be gone for a month. Come Valentine's Day, I'll be home."_

 _"A month—valentines—?"_

Ryoma could barely speak.

Sakuno smiled once again.

 _" Are you really that in love with me,_ Ryoma- _kun_ "?

He still cannot process what he's hearing.

Epilogue 2: Sempai-Tachi

" _Echizen has let his guard down."_

 _"Burning! L-O-V-E!"_

 _"Nya, Ochibi's turning purple!"_

 _"Fssshhhh"_

 _"Mamushi's blushing!"_

 _"Inui, did you get that?"_

 _"Saa, this is good footage for their wedding."_

Epilogue 3: wedding play

" 'yo-chan. Will you marry me?" The girl took the boy's hand

"But..'zaki. We have no wedding cake!"

Nanako laughed. "Seriously Ryoma, that's your problem?"

"What wedding! No wedding! You bastard! Your son! My poor granddaughter!"

"But Old Hag, Sakuno-chan's the one initiating _everything._ My brat is a wimp. "

"Silence. They're four year olds! Why the fuck are we talking about a wedding as if it's happening soon?"

Karupin meowed.

 _Meeow. If only you knew, mistress Rinko. If only you knew._


End file.
